What should the Spider-Man comics be if the Marvel Universe were rebooted?

[Jman27]

But then what do they do with Miles?

Peter senior Miles will be freshman

[Darthfury78]

This came up in a discussion on status quos. If the Marvel Universe had some Crisis on Infinite Earths style reboot, what should the Spider-Man comics be like after the reset?

Should it start completely from the beginning with the spider bite? Or should there be a different status quo with a Peter Parker who has been Spider-Man for a few years?

If there is to be a reboot, I think that it would be best if the new Spider-Man direction to continue from where the 1984 Secret Wars left off. This means, no Secret Wars 2 and no X-Factor with the return of Jean Grey, who should stay dead. The later's return is what lead to the current mess of the Marvel-616 to begin with.

There should be one Spider-Man: Peter Parker...

[Darthfury78]

But then what do they do with Miles?

Put him back in his own universe...

[Mister Mets]

When John Byrne rebooted Superman, he did the Man of Steel mini-series to cover major earlier adventures.
Superman was the regular monthly title.
Adventures of Superman was initially written by someone else.
Action Comics was also by Byrne, and featured team-ups. One advantage was that it reintroduced new versions of the DC heroes.
He also had a series of mini-series devoted to background characters and settings with World of Krypton, World of Smallville and World of Metropolis.

On Spider-Man, I am envisioning a similar opportunity. Ironing out some of my earlier ideas...

An alien costume mini-series (kinda modeled on the Long Halloween) could introduce the new status quo. It would feature Peter Parker as a freshman in college, and pretty much lead to the new status quo in Amazing Spider-Man.

It could coincide with other mini-series including a Secret Wars tie-in to show how Spidey gets the costume. This would introduce the new Marvel universe. I started a thread on this in the Marvel forum.

Amazing Fantasy would be a monthly title exploring Peter's high school adventures.

Amazing Spider-Man would be the twice-monthly main title.

It would likely make sense for the same writer(s) to do Amazing Fantasy and Amazing Spider-Man, as well as the alien costume mini-series. After two years of the ongoing books, that would be a big mark to set the stage for what comes next.

Other ongoings (that wouldn't be in the hands of this writer) would be...
Miles Morales Spider-Man: This would also embrace the multiverse, which would allow for connections to the classic universe and other titles.
Spider-Man: It would be a satellite book dealing with contemporary issues. I think it would be important to have another writer developing Peter Parker's new adventures.
Venom: This would cover an Eddie Brock who recently gained his powers as he is hunted by forces that want the symbiote. Year One would end in a fight with Spider-Man (potentially in a crossover.) Year Two would bring in Spidey again for the introduction of Carnage.
Legendary Spider-Man: An ongoing book about the 616 Peter Parker, where the creative team doesn't have to worry about keeping the character pristine for later stories, and can allow big changes (Baby May's alive! Peter celebrated his 40th birthday.)

Marvel Team Up makes sense at this stage, but it rarely sells. And there is a downside to establishing backstory for superheroes with each issue; it gets hard to change your mind as Marvel realized when Ultimate Marvel Team Up contradicted their later plans for the Ultimate Fantastic Four.

[clonegeek]

When John Byrne rebooted Superman, he did the Man of Steel mini-series to cover major earlier adventures.
Superman was the regular monthly title.
Adventures of Superman was initially written by someone else.
Action Comics was also by Byrne, and featured team-ups. One advantage was that it reintroduced new versions of the DC heroes.
He also had a series of mini-series devoted to background characters and settings with World of Krypton, World of Smallville and World of Metropolis.

On Spider-Man, I am envisioning a similar opportunity. Ironing out some of my earlier ideas...

An alien costume mini-series (kinda modeled on the Long Halloween) could introduce the new status quo. It would feature Peter Parker as a freshman in college, and pretty much lead to the new status quo in Amazing Spider-Man.

It could coincide with other mini-series including a Secret Wars tie-in to show how Spidey gets the costume. This would introduce the new Marvel universe. I started a thread on this in the Marvel forum.

Amazing Fantasy would be a monthly title exploring Peter's high school adventures.

Amazing Spider-Man would be the twice-monthly main title.

It would likely make sense for the same writer(s) to do Amazing Fantasy and Amazing Spider-Man, as well as the alien costume mini-series. After two years of the ongoing books, that would be a big mark to set the stage for what comes next.

Other ongoings (that wouldn't be in the hands of this writer) would be...
Miles Morales Spider-Man: This would also embrace the multiverse, which would allow for connections to the classic universe and other titles.
Spider-Man: It would be a satellite book dealing with contemporary issues. I think it would be important to have another writer developing Peter Parker's new adventures.
Venom: This would cover an Eddie Brock who recently gained his powers as he is hunted by forces that want the symbiote. Year One would end in a fight with Spider-Man (potentially in a crossover.) Year Two would bring in Spidey again for the introduction of Carnage.
Legendary Spider-Man: An ongoing book about the 616 Peter Parker, where the creative team doesn't have to worry about keeping the character pristine for later stories, and can allow big changes (Baby May's alive! Peter celebrated his 40th birthday.)

Marvel Team Up makes sense at this stage, but it rarely sells. And there is a downside to establishing backstory for superheroes with each issue; it gets hard to change your mind as Marvel realized when Ultimate Marvel Team Up contradicted their later plans for the Ultimate Fantastic Four.

Why should Amazing be a twice monthly title?

[Spider-Tiger]

If the Marvel Universe was completely rebooted, I would probably just follow the mold of the Insomniac Game Series. Peter is an already established seasoned Spider-man. Probably in college. And maybe hasn't met or fought some of the big rogues yet like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom.

Peter could also have his own flashback book that fleshes out his high school days.

I would mainly focus on streamlining Miles Morales' origin for the main universe (drawing inspiration from the movies and games.) Miles Morales would have his own book but would also be a supporting character in Peter's book and vice versa. They would have the occasional crossover story, but more importantly, would have an established relationship in which Peter is Miles' mentor. But the springboard of this new Spider-man continuity would revolve around the new origin of Miles Morales' Spider-man.

Gwen Stacy would remain an alternate Spider-woman of another dimension and if there are any multiversal dimension hopping shenanigans, those stories would largely be left to her with the other two Spider-men joining in on occasion.

And I do like the idea of just continuing 616 canon in another book.

[PCN24454]

If the Marvel Universe was completely rebooted, I would probably just follow the mold of the Insomniac Game Series. Peter is an already established seasoned Spider-man. Probably in college. And maybe hasn't met or fought some of the big rogues yet like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom.

Peter could also have his own flashback book that fleshes out his high school days.

I would mainly focus on streamlining Miles Morales' origin for the main universe (drawing inspiration from the movies and games.) Miles Morales would have his own book but would also be a supporting character in Peter's book and vice versa. They would have the occasional crossover story, but more importantly, would have an established relationship in which Peter is Miles' mentor. But the springboard of this new Spider-man continuity would revolve around the new origin of Miles Morales' Spider-man.

Gwen Stacy would remain an alternate Spider-woman of another dimension and if there are any multiversal dimension hopping shenanigans, those stories would largely be left to her with the other two Spider-men joining in on occasion.

And I do like the idea of just continuing 616 canon in another book.

I feel like Peter isn’t experienced until he fights his big rogues like GG and Doc Ock. It’s one of my biggest gripes with Insomniac’s game. They might as well have said that it was Peter’s first year.

[Jman27]

I feel like Peter isn’t experienced until he fights his big rogues like GG and Doc Ock. It’s one of my biggest gripes with Insomniac’s game. They might as well have said that it was Peter’s first year.

those are his only two big rogues

[bat39]

I think it would really depend on what this rebooted/alternate MU would look like. If it's a world where everyone is back to Day 0 and superheroes are just emerging, then I'm okay with high-school Peter Parker and teenage Spider-Man. If we're talking about a more established MU, say something resembling the Bronze Age, then I'd definitely want a more mature Peter, either college-aged or just out of college.

The one thing I don't want is Spider-Man being a rookie in a world where the Avengers and other heroes have been around for ages ala the MCU. In terms of publication history and 616 continuity, Peter Parker has been a superhero as long as (actually a bit longer than) the likes of Tony Stark or Matt Murdock. I think it's important to reflect that and not have Peter be part of some 'new' generation of heroes.

[Spider-Tiger]

I feel like Peter isn’t experienced until he fights his big rogues like GG and Doc Ock. It’s one of my biggest gripes with Insomniac’s game. They might as well have said that it was Peter’s first year.

If I'm not mistaken, that's sort of how the animated series did it too. Peter doesn't fight GG and Doc Ock until he is in college (although he isn't quite as seasoned in that show.) So I think it could work. Peter spends his early high school days handing street level crime (Kingpin, Hammerhead, etc) and some of the lesser threats of his rogues gallery that dont necessarily need to be fleshed out (Rhino, Shocker, etc.) but the big villains that require a lot of story building are saved for the main ongoing story.

[PCN24454]

If I'm not mistaken, that's sort of how the animated series did it too. Peter doesn't fight GG and Doc Ock until he is in college (although he isn't quite as seasoned in that show.) So I think it could work. Peter spends his early high school days handing street level crime (Kingpin, Hammerhead, etc) and some of the lesser threats of his rogues gallery that dont necessarily need to be fleshed out (Rhino, Shocker, etc.) but the big villains that require a lot of story building are saved for the main ongoing story.

Kingpin and Hammerhead aren’t minor villains. This is one of the reasons why the term “street-level” is so nebulous.

Honestly, Spider-Man never had a “main plot” to begin with. Just a premise. If it had a main plot, then it’d have a clear stoppage point. While GG, Ock, Venom, etc. are considered his archenemies, the series can easily continue past them by introducing new concepts and characters.

In that sense, GG is as much a starter villain as any of his other rogues.

[KurtW95]

I would break all of the comics up into three classifications.

A) 100% canon.
Meaning no change at all. It can't be touched.

I think it's pretty important that all of the Lee, Ditko, Romita, Buscema, Kane, Heck, Thomas stories are in this group. Pretty much all canon up until Gwen Stacy is killed off. Maybe retcon George Stacy getting killed, because I think he would be fun as a Jim Gordon kind of character in the Spider-Man corner of Marvel Comics.

B) Mostly canon.
Meaning the stories are mostly canon, but certain details are not.
Like if Gwen's death is mentioned, but the new continuity has her never die. Or Peter's marriage to Mary Jane. The way those stories are now mostly canon but a little different because of OMD.

I would put all canon up until the early 2000s into this group.

C) Not canon.
Erased. Disappeared. Gone.

I would put all canon going forward after the early 2000s. Though I would keep the one concept from the 2000s. Flash losing his legs and becoming Venom and then Anti-Venom. Which would also need to have some version of Eddie becoming Anti-Venom and becoming Venom, so they can then switch. But I would have Flash's legs be fully grown back from the symbiote, so he does not need it, but chooses to in order to be a hero like Spider-Man.

So, I would have Peter working at the Bugle. Taking photos of Spider-Man to sell. Dating Gwen. Gwen would be the only civilian who knows that Peter is Spider-Man. It is suggested that George Stacy knows too. The only villain who knows is Eddie Brock, from the symbiote. And some heroes, who he is friends with. I would have Harry be alive and maybe let him know too. Flash would know from his time with the symbiote. Anne Weying would still be alive and part of an Eddie Brock-led Venom series. Ben Reilly would be the heroic Scarlet Spider and Kaine would be the antiheroic Crimson Spider. Norman would be the Green Goblin. Not know Peter is Spider-Man. But would be a recurring evil, who doesn't have a split personality. But Marvel's Luthor, who puts on a Joker persona when he needs to. Alternate universe Spider-Man characters would be around, but not live in the 616 universe. Peter would be the only Spider-Man of 616. Spider-Man would sometimes team up with other character but never join a team fully. Ned and Sally would still be alive. Peter would be at an indeterminate age after college. Jameson wouldn't know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He would still hate Spider-Man, but is deep down a good person. And the Daily Bugle's work not related to Spider-Man would be good and honest.

[Jekyll]

This came up in a discussion on status quos. If the Marvel Universe had some Crisis on Infinite Earths style reboot, what should the Spider-Man comics be like after the reset?

Should it start completely from the beginning with the spider bite? Or should there be a different status quo with a Peter Parker who has been Spider-Man for a few years?

Oh god no, we would get Peter as a high school teenager for the 1.5 billion time

[Lee]

There's not much point in rebooting Spider-Man if you're not going to make him a teenager.

A reboot should be a reboot, a clean slate, starting from the beginning. If you start in the middle then you have the baggage of past continuity, just like the current comics. But with the current comics that past continuity is clearly defined and exists as back issues and graphic novels you can purchase.

Rebooting in the middle doesn't give the advantage of a completely clean slate and it doesn't drive sales of past material. It's the worst of both worlds.

[Blanks]

Honestly, I’d be fine with an ongoing Earth-94 style “soft-reboot” Ben Reilly Spider-Man Comic. I’m so done with Peter Parker in comic media, that I don’t care if I ever read any new stuff regarding ol Peter, outside if the PlayStation Insomiamic Game universe. That Peter seems like a good starting point for the character though.

I’m kinda against a massive major reset, if it means I lose the Spider-Bros, Peter, Ben and Kaine, and also loosing Miles as a Spider.